Did JWST-telescope find life in Jupiter's Europa moon?
Did JWST-telescope find life in Jupiter's Europa moon?
"NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide on Europa, Jupiter’s moon, suggesting it might have conditions suitable for life. The discovery points to exchanges between the moon’s icy surface and its subsurface ocean, emphasizing Europa’s potential in upcoming space missions. This illustration depicts a plume of water vapor that could potentially be emitted from the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Credit: NASA/ESA/K. Retherford/SWRI" (ScitechDaily.com/Life on Jupiter’s Moon? NASA’s Webb Finds Carbon Source on Surface of Europa)
JWST telescope found carbon from the Europa moon. That means it didn't find any kind of lifeforms, but it found an element vital for life. It means that the Europa is a more interesting moon than ever before. The idea of the life in the Europa's ocean is not new. Carl Sagan introduced the first idea for that thing.
At that time Europa's ocean's existence was only speculation. During Sagan's lifetime his scientific work time. There was no confirmed rocky exoplanet either. Sagan introduced the idea that Jupiter's atmosphere could hover jellyfish-looking organisms. Carl Sagan introduced that idea in Carl Sagan's Cosmos-TV series in 1980.
The image above is the artist's impression of the jellyfish-looking organisms that hover in Jupiter's atmosphere.
There is a layer in Jupiter's atmosphere where some kinds of organisms like bacteria. Or something like jellyfish can live. The problem is that the wind and radiation in Jupiter's atmosphere are strong. Same way, if the flow in Europa's ocean is very strong, that can cause a situation where amino acids cannot form.
And then astronomers confirmed the liquid water's existence under that moon's ice shell. And that thing boosted thoughts that maybe there were some amoebas or bacteria under that ice shell. The water protects the lifeforms against Jupiter's radiation and that means there could be some primitive organisms under the ice, that might use volcanic heat as an energy source. These kinds of organisms are found near so-called black smokers on the deep ocean bottom. Similar organisms may live under the ice shells of some distant ice moons. But confirming that thing requires a submarine that can dive in the Europa's oceans.
https://scitechdaily.com/life-on-jupiters-moon-nasas-webb-finds-carbon-source-on-surface-of-europa/
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